He’s a lifelong pilot who spent years in the Canadian air force. And though he entered the services long after the war, he likes to say he’s flown everything that has wings that don’t flap — and that would include the beauties in this wonderful souvenir calendar from the U.S. retro label Secrets In Lace.

The company partnered with pinup photographer Michael Malak to create this authentic-looking collector’s edition that features models wearing SIL lingerie in front of vintage WWII aircraft. It sells for a mere $19.99 on the SIL webshop, and you can also get limited edition giclée prints of each month and the cover for $100 each.

There’s a rich history to the military pin-up photo — it’s really an artistic genre unto itself — and a semiotic subtext that is probably only understood by servicemen. For men of a certain vintage, the idea of an underclad gal slipping into your bomber jacket, or a bra-wearing Betty climbing into your cockpit, was the ne plus ultra of erotic fantasies.

Secrets In Lace has tapped into this enduring truth, and these images will trigger some deep memories for aviation buffs who had Betty Grable posters in their lockers and named their aircraft after movie stars and girlfriends. Ah, the romance of wartime!

As for my father, who was just a boy during the war, I know he’s going to love this gift. And, like any true flyboy, he’ll glance approvingly at the girls in these images … but spend forever studying the planes through a magnifying glass.

Here’s the full set of Secrets In Lace‘s 2012 “Wings Of Angels” calendar. Get your copy while you can!